Joint agency operation receives second guilty plea

James Stephen Burns (41) has
pleaded guilty to Crimes Act charges following a major joint
enforcement agency operation (Operation Edit) led by the
Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The Wellington resident faced
24 charges in relation to an advertising invoice scam. The
scam involved selling advertising in magazines that were
either never printed, or in publications where gross
misrepresentations as to the number of magazines to be
printed and circulated were made to the advertisers. The
magazines were generally titled in a way that suggested
worthwhile causes in subjects such as road safety or
parenting. It is alleged that the scam had generated up to
$1.6 million since 2008.

SFO Director, Julie Read said,
“The SFO will continue work closely with our fellow
agencies on Operation Edit as we proceed with the
prosecution of the other defendants.”

Terran Elizabeth
Dow entered guilty pleas in July 2013 and was sentenced in
October 2013. The three remaining defendants in this matter;
Anthony John Hendon, Noelene Kay Banton and Johannes Hendrik
Maria Middledorp have been committed for trial.

Mr Burns
will reappear for sentencing on 19
September.

ENDS

For further
information:

Andrea Linton

Serious Fraud
Office

027 705 4550

Note to
editors

Background to
investigation

A multi-agency taskforce combining
Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the New Zealand Police, the
Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand
(OFCANZ), the Commerce Commission, the New Zealand Customs
Service, and Inland Revenue was created in May 2012 to
combat a long running invoicing scam.

Operation Edit is
the first joint investigation of its kind.

Crimes
Act Offences

Section 98A Participation
in organised criminal group

(1) Every person
commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 10 years who participates in an organised
criminal group—

(a) knowing that 3 or more people share
any 1 or more of the objectives (the particular objective or
particular objectives) described in paragraphs (a) to (d) of
subsection (2) (whether or not the person himself or herself
shares the particular objective or particular objectives);
and

(b) either knowing that his or her conduct
contributes, or being reckless as to whether his or her
conduct may contribute, to the occurrence of any criminal
activity; and

(c) either knowing that the criminal
activity contributes, or being reckless as to whether the
criminal activity may contribute, to achieving the
particular objective or particular objectives of the
organised criminal group.

(2) For the purposes of this
Act, a group is an organised criminal group if it is a group
of 3 or more people who have as their objective or one of
their objectives—

(a) obtaining material benefits from
the commission of offences that are punishable by
imprisonment for a term of 4 years or more; or

(b)
obtaining material benefits from conduct outside New Zealand
that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would constitute the
commission of offences that are punishable by imprisonment
for a term of 4 years or more; or

(c) the commission of
serious violent offences; or

(d) conduct outside New
Zealand that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would
constitute the commission of serious violent offences.

(3)
A group of people is capable of being an organised criminal
group for the purposes of this Act whether or not—

(a)
some of them are subordinates or employees of others;
or

(b) only some of the people involved in it at a
particular time are involved in the planning, arrangement,
or execution at that time of any particular action,
activity, or transaction; or

(c) its membership changes
from time to time.

Section 228 Dishonestly
taking or using document

Every one is liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who, with
intent to obtain any property, service, pecuniary advantage,
or valuable consideration,—

(a) dishonestly and without
claim of right, takes or obtains any document; or

(b)
dishonestly and without claim of right, uses or attempts to
use any
document.

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